Navigation for 360-degree video streaming

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method including obtaining media content and an identification of a plurality of points of interest in the media content, receiving a request from a user to view the media content, obtaining information about the user, identifying one or more highlight points based on the information about the user, presenting the media content to the user, and monitoring the user&#39;s consumption of the content, determining a field of view of the highlight point, and presenting a guide indicator in the field of view of the user to provide information about the highlight point. Other embodiments are disclosed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to a system and method for navigatingmedia content, such as 360 degree video.

BACKGROUND

Some media content is becoming more and more feature rich, such thatusers can easily become overwhelmed. For example, in 360 degree video,users may not know where to look to avoid missing interesting content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a communications network in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a system functioning within the communication network ofFIG. 1 in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2B depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2C depicts an illustrative embodiment of a simplified workflow inaccordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2D depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first field of view inaccordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2E depicts an illustrative embodiment of a second field of view inaccordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2F depicts an illustrative embodiment of a third field of view inaccordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a virtualized communication network in accordance withvarious aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of amobile network platform in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acommunication device in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments for directing a user's attention to portions of mediacontent that might be of interest to them. Other embodiments aredescribed in the subject disclosure.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a methodcomprising obtaining media content and an identification of a pluralityof points of interest in the media content, receiving a request from auser to view the media content, obtaining information about the user,identifying one or more highlight points based on the information aboutthe user, presenting the media content to the user, monitoring a fieldof view of the user, determining a field of view of the highlight point,and overlaying a guide indicator atop the field of view of the user,wherein the guide indicator provides information about the highlightpoint, and wherein the guide indicator is positioned to indicate adirection for the user to turn to align the field of view of the userwith the field of view of the highlight point.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include an apparatus,comprising a processor and a memory that stores executable instructionsthat, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance ofoperations, including: obtaining media content; receiving a request froma user to view the media content; obtaining information about the user;identifying a set of highlight points by determining which of the pointsof interest in the media content would be of interest to the user basedon the first information; presenting the media content to the user,monitoring a field of view of the user, determining a field of view ofthe highlight point, and presenting a guide indicator in the field ofview of the user, wherein the guide indicator provides information aboutthe highlight point, and wherein the guide indicator is positioned toindicate a direction for the user to turn to align the field of view ofthe user with the field of view of the highlight point.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a non-transitory,machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processing system including a processor, facilitateperformance of operations comprising obtaining media content andanalyzing the media content to discern a plurality of points of interestin the media content based on previous user experiences with the mediacontent, receiving a request from equipment of a user to view the mediacontent; obtaining information about the user, identifying one or morehighlight points based on the information about the user, presenting themedia content to the user, monitoring a field of view of the user,determining a field of view of the highlight point, and presenting aguide indicator in the field of view of the user, wherein the guideindicator provides information about the highlight point, and whereinthe guide indicator is positioned to indicate a direction for the userto turn to align the field of view of the user with the field of view ofthe highlight point.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram is shown illustrating anexample, non-limiting embodiment of a communications network 100 inaccordance with various aspects described herein. As will be apparentbelow, the communications network 100 may form part of, or may support,certain embodiments of the guidance service described herein. Forexample, the communications network 100 may be used to retrieve and/orpresent the media content. In particular, a communications network 125is presented for providing broadband access 110 to a plurality of dataterminals 114 via access terminal 112, wireless access 120 to aplurality of mobile devices 124 and vehicle 126 via base station oraccess point 122, voice access 130 to a plurality of telephony devices134, via switching device 132 and/or media access 140 to a plurality ofaudio/video display devices 144 via media terminal 142. In addition,communication network 125 is coupled to one or more content sources 175of audio, video, graphics, text and/or other media. While broadbandaccess 110, wireless access 120, voice access 130 and media access 140are shown separately, one or more of these forms of access can becombined to provide multiple access services to a single client device(e.g., mobile devices 124 can receive media content via media terminal142, data terminal 114 can be provided voice access via switching device132, and so on).

The communications network 125 includes a plurality of network elements(NE) 150, 152, 154, 156, etc. for facilitating the broadband access 110,wireless access 120, voice access 130, media access 140 and/or thedistribution of content from content sources 175. The communicationsnetwork 125 can include a circuit switched or packet switched network, avoice over Internet protocol (VoIP) network, Internet protocol (IP)network, a cable network, a passive or active optical network, a 4G, 5G,or higher generation wireless access network, WIMAX network,UltraWideband network, personal area network or other wireless accessnetwork, a broadcast satellite network and/or other communicationsnetwork.

In various embodiments, the access terminal 112 can include a digitalsubscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM), cable modem terminationsystem (CMTS), optical line terminal (OLT) and/or other access terminal.The data terminals 114 can include personal computers, laptop computers,netbook computers, tablets or other computing devices along with digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modems, data over coax service interfacespecification (DOCSIS) modems or other cable modems, a wireless modemsuch as a 4G, 5G, or higher generation modem, an optical modem and/orother access devices.

In various embodiments, the base station or access point 122 can includea 4G, 5G, or higher generation base station, an access point thatoperates via an 802.11 standard such as 802.11n, 802.11ac or otherwireless access terminal. The mobile devices 124 can include mobilephones, e-readers, tablets, phablets, wireless modems, and/or othermobile computing devices.

In various embodiments, the switching device 132 can include a privatebranch exchange or central office switch, a media services gateway, VoIPgateway or other gateway device and/or other switching device. Thetelephony devices 134 can include traditional telephones (with orwithout a terminal adapter), VoIP telephones and/or other telephonydevices.

In various embodiments, the media terminal 142 can include a cablehead-end or other TV head-end, a satellite receiver, gateway or othermedia terminal 142. The display devices 144 can include televisions withor without a set top box, personal computers and/or other displaydevices.

In various embodiments, the content sources 175 include broadcasttelevision and radio sources, video on demand platforms and streamingvideo and audio services platforms, one or more content data networks,data servers, web servers and other content servers, and/or othersources of media.

In various embodiments, the communications network 125 can includewired, optical and/or wireless links and the network elements 150, 152,154, 156, etc. can include service switching points, signal transferpoints, service control points, network gateways, media distributionhubs, servers, firewalls, routers, edge devices, switches and othernetwork nodes for routing and controlling communications traffic overwired, optical and wireless links as part of the Internet and otherpublic networks as well as one or more private networks, for managingsubscriber access, for billing and network management and for supportingother network functions.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a system 200 functioning within the communication networkof FIG. 1 in accordance with various aspects described herein. Aguidance service 202 of the disclosed embodiments obtains media content,such as from the content source 175 through the communications network125. The guidance service 202 analyzes the content in an effort todetermine where to guide a user's attention within the content. When auser requests the content, the guidance service 202 may present themedia content with one or more guide indicators directing the user toportions of the content that may be of interest to that user, as will bediscussed in greater detail below. The guidance service 202 may obtainthe media content before or after receiving a user request for thecontent. The user may interact with the guidance service 202 through avariety of devices, such as the data terminal 114, the mobile device124, Virtual Reality (VR) headset 204, other equipment, and/or anycombination thereof. For example, the guidance service 202 maycommunicate directly with the VR headset 204, through the communicationsnetwork 125, and/or through the data terminal 114, the mobile device124, other equipment, and/or any combination thereof.

FIG. 2B depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method 220 in accordancewith various aspects described herein. As shown in 222, the guidanceservice 202 obtains media content, such as from the content source 175through the communications network 125. The media content may be 360degree video, three-dimensional video, panoramic video, immersive video,other media content, and/or a combination thereof.

As shown in 224, the guidance service 202 may analyze the media contentto discern a plurality of points of interest in the media content. Thisanalysis may include scoring each of the points of interest in the mediacontent. For example, the guidance service 202 may have monitoredprevious users' consumption of the media content, tracking their fieldof view and/or actual gaze, and therefore determined where thoseprevious user's looked within the media content. Thus, the scoring maycomprise a tally of how often previous users have looked at a particularpoint of interest in the media content.

The tally itself can be used to identify further points of interest. Forexample, if users frequently look at the same point, or spot, in themedia content, that point may be identified as a possible point ofinterest. The more often previous users have looked at a particularpoint, the more likely it may be a point of interest for future users.Thus, not only can the tally be used in the scoring of points ofinterest, the tally may also be used to identify points of interest.

The guidance service 202 itself may perform the analysis. In someembodiments, another element performs the analysis and/or identifiespoints of interest in the media content. For example, the content source175 may provide the points of interest along with the media content. Inany case, the identification of the points of interest may evolve asmore users view the media content, as will be discussed in more detailbelow.

As shown in 226, the guidance service 202 may receive or otherwiseobtain a user request for the media content. Such a request may bereceived before or after the guidance service 202 has obtained and/orinitially analyzed the media content. For example, the guidance service202 may obtain access to the media content, but wait for a user requestto actually analyze it, thereby conserving resources.

As shown in 228, the guidance service 202 may also obtain informationabout the user. This information may include demographic informationabout the user, such as age, gender, etc. This information may includeuser preferences and/or user viewing habits.

As shown in 230, the guidance service 202 may identify one or morehighlight points in the media content. It should be noted that thehighlight points need not be specific points, but rather may be areas orother portions of the media content to which the user's attention isdrawn. In some embodiments, the highlight points may be points ofinterest that are likely to be of interest to the user, based on theanalysis and information about the user. For example, in someembodiments, a point of interest that is viewed by the most previoususers may be considered likely to be of interest to any future users.

In some embodiments, the demographic information about the user may betaken into account. For example, a point of interest that is frequentlyviewed by previous users sharing similar demographics with the user maybe considered likely to be of interest to the user. More specifically,where the user is young male, they may not be interested in points ofinterest viewed by one hundred adult females. Rather, where the user isyoung male, they may be more interested in points of interest viewed bytwenty young males (as opposed to one hundred adult females). Thus, theguidance service 202 may account for both the initial analysis as wellas specific information about the user in order to determine which ofthe points of interest in the media content would be of interest to aspecific user, thereby identifying the highlight points.

User preferences may also be used to supplement, replace, and/oroverride the demographic information and/or other information about theuser. For example, a specific user may be interested in things similarlysituated users may not be. As such, that user can override normaldemographic processing. As another example, user preferences (possiblyin the form of parental controls) may be used to ensure certain usersare not exposed to inappropriate material. In some embodiments, userpreferences may be used to specify topics or subject matter that aspecific user is or is not interested in.

Similarly, a user's actual viewing habits may be used to enhance,update, or even correct the information about a user. For example, auser may specify that they are interested in a specific subject, such asin user preferences. The guidance service 202, or another portion of thesystem, may notice over time that they tend to not pay much attention tocertain points of interest highlighted due to matching that specificsubject. The guidance service 202 may update the information about theuser, such as by refining the subject further, or applying less weightto the specific subject in determining which points of interest may beof interest to the user.

Similarly, in some cases, the guidance service 202 may determine overtime that a user tends to pay more attention to certain points ofinterest, that were not otherwise flagged as being points of interestlikely to be of interest to the user. Here again, the guidance service202 may update the information about the user, such as by applying moreweight to a specific subject in determining which points of interest maybe of interest to the user.

As shown in 232, the guidance service 202 then presents the mediacontent to the user. In some embodiments, the guidance service 202 maypresent the media content to the user's equipment or device(s). Forexample, the guidance service 202 may present the media content to theuser's VR headset 204, the data terminal 114, the mobile device 124,other equipment, and/or any combination thereof. That device may thenpresent the media content to the user.

As shown in 234, the guidance service 202 may monitor the user'sconsumption of the media content. In some embodiments, the systemmonitors the position and orientation of the user's VR headset 204. Insome embodiments, the system monitors an actual view through a device.For example, rather than merely monitoring the position and orientationof the user's VR headset 204, the guidance service 202 may monitor theuser's actual line of sight or gaze. More specifically, depending uponthe hardware used, the guidance service 202 may actually monitor theuser's eyes and discern where the user is actually looking, rather thanjust where their head (or VR headset 204) is pointing. This may be done,for example, by detecting reflections from the user's eyes, ormonitoring images of the user's eyes, and determining therefrom whichdirection the user is looking, which may be relative to (but differentfrom) orientation of the user's VR headset 204.

As shown, and discussed above, the guidance service 202 knows where theuser is actually looking and where the highlight points are in the mediacontent. To the extent these two correlate, the identification of thepoints of interest and/or highlight points, as well as the informationabout the user, may be considered accurate. Otherwise, theidentification of the points of interest and/or highlight points, aswell as the information about the user may be updated, enhanced, orotherwise supplemented, based on where the user is actually looking ascompared to where the highlight points are in the media content.

For example, as discussed above, where users actually look may be usedto further identify possible points of interest. Similarly, if userstypically linger at certain points of interest, then those points may begiven more weight when identifying highlight points. On the other hand,if users typically avoid certain points of interest, then those pointsmay be given less weight when identifying highlight points.

All of this analysis may be done specific to the user. For example, asthe user uses the system, the system may continually learn more aboutthat user's true interests, which may then be used to improve selectionof highlight points. This may also be done on the fly. For example,where the guidance service 202 identifies highlight points in the mediacontent based on information then known about the user (or in theabsence of such information), the guidance service 202 monitors theuser's actual consumption on the highlighted content, and may moreaccurately identify highlight points in later portions of that samemedia content.

While monitoring the user's field of view, as shown in 234, the guidanceservice 202 may also determine one or more field(s) of view of thehighlight point(s). These may be determined independently of the user'sfield of view and then compared, or otherwise collated with user's fieldof view. In some embodiments, the guidance service 202 determines one ormore field(s) of view of the highlight point(s) relative to the user'sfield of view. To the extent field(s) of view of the highlight point(s)correlates to the user's field of view, the guidance service 202 need donothing further, since the user is already viewing the highlightpoint(s).

To the extent field(s) of view of the highlight point(s) does notcorrelate with the user's field of view, the guidance service 202 maypresent guide indicators to guide the user to the highlight point(s), asshown in 236. In some embodiments, the guidance service 202 overlays oneor more guide indicators atop the user's field of view.

In some embodiments, the guide indicators provide information about thehighlight point. For example, in some embodiments, a guide indicatorcomprises the actual field of view to the highlight point(s), therebyshowing the highlight point to the user regardless of the user's actualfield of view. In some embodiments, a guide indicator comprises atextual description of the highlight point.

In some embodiments, the guide indicators are placed so as to indicatewhere the highlight point is relative to the user's actual field ofview. For example, a guide indicator may be placed at or near a top ofthe user's actual field of view, indicating to the user to look up.Similarly, a guide indicator may be placed at or near a bottom of theuser's actual field of view, indicating to the user to look down. Aguide indicator may be placed at or near a left or right edge of theuser's actual field of view, indicating to the user to look left orright, respectively. Guide indicators may be placed in any combinationof the above. For example, a guide indicator may be placed at or near aleft edge and right edge of the user's actual field of view, indicatingto the user that there are highlight points both to the left and theright. Similarly, a guide indicator may be placed at or near a top edgeand right edge of the user's actual field of view, indicating to theuser to look up and to the right. Similarly, a guide indicator may beplaced at or near a bottom edge and left edge of the user's actual fieldof view, indicating to the user to look down and to the left.

In some embodiments, the guide indicator indicates highlight points asthey occur in the media content. In some embodiments, the guideindicator indicates highlight points before they occur in the mediacontent. For example, the guide indicator may indicate where a highlightpoint will occur in the media content, thereby giving the user time toturn towards, or otherwise look at, the highlight point.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the respectiveprocesses are shown and described as a series of blocks in FIG. 2B, itis to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter isnot limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what isdepicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks maybe required to implement the methods described herein.

FIG. 2C depicts an illustrative embodiment of a simplified workflow 240in accordance with various aspects described herein. As shown, the abovedescribed navigation functionality is optional and the user can turn itoff and on before or during presentation of the media content. When theabove described navigation functionality is turned on, the systemattempts to predict points or areas within the media content in whichthe user might be interested and determines or selects fields of viewthat contain these points. The system may present textual hints aboutthese points or may actually present fields of view that contain thesepoints in the user's current field of view.

FIG. 2D depicts an illustrative embodiment of a field of view 250 inaccordance with various aspects described herein. As shown, textualguide indicators 255 indicate where to look within the media content.For example, the textual guide indicators 255 indicate where to lookwithin the media content both in terms of their placement in the fieldof view 250, but also with words. In some embodiments, the textual guideindicators 255 indicate where to look within the media content in termsof their placement in the field of view 250. In some embodiments, thetextual guide indicators 255 indicate where to look within the mediacontent with words.

FIG. 2E depicts an illustrative embodiment of another field of view 260in accordance with various aspects described herein. As shown, textualguide indicators 265 indicate where to look within the media content.For example, the textual guide indicators 265 indicate where to lookwithin the media content in terms of their placement in the field ofview 260. As also shown here, the textual guide indicators 265 indicatewhen to look within the media content with words. For example, the guideindicators may represent, or otherwise indicate, a highlight point thatwill occur at a future time in the media content. As also shown here,the textual guide indicators 265 indicate highlight points that willoccur at 10 seconds and 30 seconds in the future in the media content.In some embodiments, the guide indicators may represent, or otherwiseindicate, a highlight point that will occur between two seconds and oneminute in the future in the media content. In some embodiments, theguide indicators may represent, or otherwise indicate, a highlight pointthat will occur between five and forty-five seconds in the future in themedia content. In some embodiments, the guide indicators may represent,or otherwise indicate, a highlight point that will occur five, ten,fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, and/or thirty seconds in the future in themedia content.

FIG. 2F depicts an illustrative embodiment of another field of view 270in accordance with various aspects described herein. As shown, textualguide indicators 275 indicate where to look within the media content.For example, the textual guide indicators 275 indicate where to lookwithin the media content in terms of their placement in the field ofview 270, as well as with words. As also shown here, the textual guideindicators 275 indicate what the respective highlight points will show.This is especially useful where there are multiple, conflictinghighlight points and the user needs to decide which to view.

As discussed above, guide indicators 255, 265, 275 may be textual(textually providing information about the respective highlight point)and/or graphical (graphically providing information about the respectivehighlight point). The guide indicators 255, 265, 275 may indicate apresently occurring highlight point and/or one that will occur in thefuture. The guide indicators 255, 265, 275 may be placed within, oratop, the user's field of view so as to (or otherwise) indicate wherethe user should look for the respective highlight point in the mediacontent being presented.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a block diagram 300 is shown illustrating anexample, non-limiting embodiment of a virtualized communication networkin accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular avirtualized communication network is presented that can be used toimplement some or all of the subsystems and functions of communicationnetwork 100, the subsystems and functions of system 200, and method 220presented in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B3. For example, the virtualizedcommunication network may form part of, or may support, certainembodiments of the guidance service 202 described herein.

In particular, a cloud networking architecture is shown that leveragescloud technologies and supports rapid innovation and scalability via atransport layer 350, a virtualized network function cloud 325 and/or oneor more cloud computing environments 375. The virtualized networkfunction cloud 325 and/or one or more cloud computing environments 375may perform the above described operations of the guidance service 202.In various embodiments, this cloud networking architecture is an openarchitecture that leverages application programming interfaces (APIs);reduces complexity from services and operations; supports more nimblebusiness models; and rapidly and seamlessly scales to meet evolvingcustomer requirements including traffic growth, diversity of traffictypes, and diversity of performance and reliability expectations.

In contrast to traditional network elements—which are typicallyintegrated to perform a single function, the virtualized communicationnetwork employs virtual network elements 330, 332, 334, etc. thatperform some or all of the functions of network elements 150, 152, 154,156, etc. For example, the network architecture can provide a substrateof networking capability, often called Network Function VirtualizationInfrastructure (NFVI) or simply infrastructure that is capable of beingdirected with software and Software Defined Networking (SDN) protocolsto perform a broad variety of network functions and services. Thisinfrastructure can include several types of substrates. The most typicaltype of substrate being servers that support Network FunctionVirtualization (NFV), followed by packet forwarding capabilities basedon generic computing resources, with specialized network technologiesbrought to bear when general purpose processors or general purposeintegrated circuit devices offered by merchants (referred to herein asmerchant silicon) are not appropriate. In this case, communicationservices can be implemented as cloud-centric workloads.

As an example, a traditional network element 150 (shown in FIG. 1), suchas an edge router can be implemented via a virtual network element 330composed of NFV software modules, merchant silicon, and associatedcontrollers. The software can be written so that increasing workloadconsumes incremental resources from a common resource pool, and moreoverso that it's elastic: so the resources are only consumed when needed. Ina similar fashion, other network elements such as other routers,switches, edge caches, and middle-boxes are instantiated from the commonresource pool. Such sharing of infrastructure across a broad set of usesmakes planning and growing infrastructure easier to manage.

In an embodiment, the transport layer 350 includes fiber, cable, wiredand/or wireless transport elements, network elements and interfaces toprovide broadband access 110, wireless access 120, voice access 130,media access 140 and/or access to content sources 175 for distributionof content to any or all of the access technologies. In particular, insome cases a network element needs to be positioned at a specific place,and this allows for less sharing of common infrastructure. Other times,the network elements have specific physical layer adapters that cannotbe abstracted or virtualized, and might require special DSP code andanalog front-ends (AFEs) that do not lend themselves to implementationas virtual network elements 330, 332 or 334. These network elements canbe included in transport layer 350.

The virtualized network function cloud 325 interfaces with the transportlayer 350 to provide the virtual network elements 330, 332, 334, etc. toprovide specific NFVs. In particular, the virtualized network functioncloud 325 leverages cloud operations, applications, and architectures tosupport networking workloads. The virtualized network elements 330, 332and 334 can employ network function software that provides either aone-for-one mapping of traditional network element function oralternately some combination of network functions designed for cloudcomputing. For example, virtualized network elements 330, 332 and 334can include route reflectors, domain name system (DNS) servers, anddynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) servers, system architectureevolution (SAE) and/or mobility management entity (MME) gateways,broadband network gateways, IP edge routers for IP-VPN, Ethernet andother services, load balancers, distributers and other network elements.Because these elements don't typically need to forward large amounts oftraffic, their workload can be distributed across a number ofservers—each of which adds a portion of the capability, and overallwhich creates an elastic function with higher availability than itsformer monolithic version. These virtual network elements 330, 332, 334,etc. can be instantiated and managed using an orchestration approachsimilar to those used in cloud compute services.

The cloud computing environments 375 can interface with the virtualizednetwork function cloud 325 via APIs that expose functional capabilitiesof the VNE 330, 332, 334, etc. to provide the flexible and expandedcapabilities to the virtualized network function cloud 325. Inparticular, network workloads may have applications distributed acrossthe virtualized network function cloud 325 and cloud computingenvironment 375 and in the commercial cloud, or might simply orchestrateworkloads supported entirely in NFV infrastructure from these thirdparty locations.

Turning now to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a block diagram of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein. In order to provide additional context for various embodimentsof the embodiments described herein, FIG. 4 and the following discussionare intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitablecomputing environment 400 in which the various embodiments of thesubject disclosure can be implemented. In particular, computingenvironment 400 can be used in the implementation of network elements150, 152, 154, 156, access terminal 112, base station or access point122, switching device 132, media terminal 142, and/or virtual networkelements 330, 332, 334, etc. The computing environment 400 can be usedin the implementation of the guidance service 202 and/or user devices.Each of these devices can be implemented via computer-executableinstructions that can run on one or more computers, and/or incombination with other program modules and/or as a combination ofhardware and software.

Generally, program modules comprise routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, comprising single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

As used herein, a processing circuit includes one or more processors aswell as other application specific circuits such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit, digital logic circuit, state machine,programmable gate array or other circuit that processes input signals ordata and that produces output signals or data in response thereto. Itshould be noted that while any functions and features described hereinin association with the operation of a processor could likewise beperformed by a processing circuit.

The illustrated embodiments of the embodiments herein can be alsopracticed in distributed computing environments where certain tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Computing devices typically comprise a variety of media, which cancomprise computer-readable storage media and/or communications media,which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and comprises both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured dataor unstructured data.

Computer-readable storage media can comprise, but are not limited to,random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or othermemory technology, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devicesor other tangible and/or non-transitory media which can be used to storedesired information. In this regard, the terms “tangible” or“non-transitory” herein as applied to storage, memory orcomputer-readable media, are to be understood to exclude onlypropagating transitory signals per se as modifiers and do not relinquishrights to all standard storage, memory or computer-readable media thatare not only propagating transitory signals per se.

Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local orremote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or otherdata retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect tothe information stored by the medium.

Communications media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructureddata in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and comprises any informationdelivery or transport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signalsrefers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set orchanged in such a manner as to encode information in one or moresignals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication mediacomprise wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media.

With reference again to FIG. 4, the example environment can comprise acomputer 402, the computer 402 comprising a processing unit 404, asystem memory 406 and a system bus 408. The system bus 408 couplessystem components including, but not limited to, the system memory 406to the processing unit 404. The processing unit 404 can be any ofvarious commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors andother multiprocessor architectures can also be employed as theprocessing unit 404.

The system bus 408 can be any of several types of bus structure that canfurther interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 406comprises ROM 410 and RAM 412. A basic input/output system (BIOS) can bestored in a non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM), EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines thathelp to transfer information between elements within the computer 402,such as during startup. The RAM 412 can also comprise a high-speed RAMsuch as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 402 further comprises an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 414(e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive 414 can also beconfigured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), amagnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 416, (e.g., to read from or write to aremovable diskette 418) and an optical disk drive 420, (e.g., reading aCD-ROM disk 422 or, to read from or write to other high capacity opticalmedia such as the DVD). The hard disk drive 414, magnetic disk drive 416and optical disk drive 420 can be connected to the system bus 408 by ahard disk drive interface 424, a magnetic disk drive interface 426 andan optical drive interface 428, respectively. The interface 424 forexternal drive implementations comprises at least one or both ofUniversal Serial Bus (USB) and Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 1394 interface technologies. Other external driveconnection technologies are within contemplation of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 402, the drives and storagemedia accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format.Although the description of computer-readable storage media above refersto a hard disk drive (HDD), a removable magnetic diskette, and aremovable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that other types of storage media which arereadable by a computer, such as zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flashmemory cards, cartridges, and the like, can also be used in the exampleoperating environment, and further, that any such storage media cancontain computer-executable instructions for performing the methodsdescribed herein.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 412,comprising an operating system 430, one or more application programs432, other program modules 434 and program data 436. All or portions ofthe operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 412. The systems and methods described herein can beimplemented utilizing various commercially available operating systemsor combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 402 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 438 and apointing device, such as a mouse 440. Other input devices (not shown)can comprise a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a joystick,a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen or the like. These and otherinput devices are often connected to the processing unit 404 through aninput device interface 442 that can be coupled to the system bus 408,but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, anIEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a universal serial bus (USB) port,an IR interface, etc.

A monitor 444 or other type of display device can be also connected tothe system bus 408 via an interface, such as a video adapter 446. Itwill also be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, a monitor 444can also be any display device (e.g., another computer having a display,a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc.) for receiving displayinformation associated with computer 402 via any communication means,including via the Internet and cloud-based networks. In addition to themonitor 444, a computer typically comprises other peripheral outputdevices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 402 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 448. The remotecomputer(s) 448 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentappliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallycomprises many or all of the elements described relative to the computer402, although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device 450is illustrated. The logical connections depicted comprise wired/wirelessconnectivity to a local area network (LAN) 452 and/or larger networks,e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 454. Such LAN and WAN networkingenvironments are commonplace in offices and companies, and facilitateenterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which canconnect to a global communications network, e.g., the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 402 can beconnected to the local network 452 through a wired and/or wirelesscommunication network interface or adapter 456. The adapter 456 canfacilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN 452, which canalso comprise a wireless AP disposed thereon for communicating with thewireless adapter 456.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 402 can comprisea modem 458 or can be connected to a communications server on the WAN454 or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN 454,such as by way of the Internet. The modem 458, which can be internal orexternal and a wired or wireless device, can be connected to the systembus 408 via the input device interface 442. In a networked environment,program modules depicted relative to the computer 402 or portionsthereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device 450. It willbe appreciated that the network connections shown are example and othermeans of establishing a communications link between the computers can beused.

The computer 402 can be operable to communicate with any wirelessdevices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication,e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portabledata assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment orlocation associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk,news stand, restroom), and telephone. This can comprise WirelessFidelity (Wi-Fi) and BLUETOOTH® wireless technologies. Thus, thecommunication can be a predefined structure as with a conventionalnetwork or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi can allow connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bedin a hotel room or a conference room at work, without wires. Wi-Fi is awireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enablessuch devices, e.g., computers, to send and receive data indoors and out;anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use radiotechnologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, n, ac, ag etc.) to providesecure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can beused to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wirednetworks (which can use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operatein the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands for example or with productsthat contain both bands (dual band), so the networks can providereal-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernetnetworks used in many offices.

Turning now to FIG. 5, an embodiment 500 of a mobile network platform510 is shown that is an example of network elements 150, 152, 154, 156,and/or virtual network elements 330, 332, 334, etc. In one or moreembodiments, the mobile network platform 510 can generate and receivesignals transmitted and received by base stations or access points suchas base station or access point 122. As such, the mobile networkplatform 510 may facilitate communications between the user's devicesand the guidance service 202.

Generally, wireless network platform 510 can comprise components, e.g.,nodes, gateways, interfaces, servers, or disparate platforms, thatfacilitate both packet-switched (PS) (e.g., internet protocol (IP),frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)) and circuit-switched (CS)traffic (e.g., voice and data), as well as control generation fornetworked wireless telecommunication. As a non-limiting example,wireless network platform 510 can be included in telecommunicationscarrier networks, and can be considered carrier-side components asdiscussed elsewhere herein. Mobile network platform 510 comprises CSgateway node(s) 512 which can interface CS traffic received from legacynetworks like telephony network(s) 540 (e.g., public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN), or public land mobile network (PLMN)) or a signalingsystem #7 (SS7) network 570. Circuit switched gateway node(s) 512 canauthorize and authenticate traffic (e.g., voice) arising from suchnetworks. Additionally, CS gateway node(s) 512 can access mobility, orroaming, data generated through SS7 network 570; for instance, mobilitydata stored in a visited location register (VLR), which can reside inmemory 530. Moreover, CS gateway node(s) 512 interfaces CS-based trafficand signaling and PS gateway node(s) 518. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTSnetwork, CS gateway node(s) 512 can be realized at least in part ingateway GPRS support node(s) (GGSN). It should be appreciated thatfunctionality and specific operation of CS gateway node(s) 512, PSgateway node(s) 518, and serving node(s) 516, is provided and dictatedby radio technology(ies) utilized by mobile network platform 510 fortelecommunication.

In addition to receiving and processing CS-switched traffic andsignaling, PS gateway node(s) 518 can authorize and authenticatePS-based data sessions with served mobile devices. Data sessions cancomprise traffic, or content(s), exchanged with networks external to thewireless network platform 510, like wide area network(s) (WANs) 550,enterprise network(s) 570, and service network(s) 580, which can beembodied in local area network(s) (LANs), can also be interfaced withmobile network platform 510 through PS gateway node(s) 518. It is to benoted that WANs 550 and enterprise network(s) 560 can embody, at leastin part, a service network(s) like IP multimedia subsystem (IMS). Basedon radio technology layer(s) available in technology resource(s) 517,packet-switched gateway node(s) 518 can generate packet data protocolcontexts when a data session is established; other data structures thatfacilitate routing of packetized data also can be generated. To thatend, in an aspect, PS gateway node(s) 518 can comprise a tunnelinterface (e.g., tunnel termination gateway (TTG) in 3GPP UMTSnetwork(s) (not shown)) which can facilitate packetized communicationwith disparate wireless network(s), such as Wi-Fi networks.

In embodiment 500, wireless network platform 510 also comprises servingnode(s) 516 that, based upon available radio technology layer(s) withintechnology resource(s) 517, convey the various packetized flows of datastreams received through PS gateway node(s) 518. It is to be noted thatfor technology resource(s) that rely primarily on CS communication,server node(s) can deliver traffic without reliance on PS gatewaynode(s) 518; for example, server node(s) can embody at least in part amobile switching center. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, servingnode(s) 516 can be embodied in serving GPRS support node(s) (SGSN).

For radio technologies that exploit packetized communication, server(s)514 in wireless network platform 510 can execute numerous applicationsthat can generate multiple disparate packetized data streams or flows,and manage (e.g., schedule, queue, format . . . ) such flows. Suchapplication(s) can comprise add-on features to standard services (forexample, provisioning, billing, customer support . . . ) provided bywireless network platform 510. Data streams (e.g., content(s) that arepart of a voice call or data session) can be conveyed to PS gatewaynode(s) 518 for authorization/authentication and initiation of a datasession, and to serving node(s) 516 for communication thereafter. Inaddition to application server, server(s) 514 can comprise utilityserver(s), a utility server can comprise a provisioning server, anoperations and maintenance server, a security server that can implementat least in part a certificate authority and firewalls as well as othersecurity mechanisms, and the like. In an aspect, security server(s)secure communication served through wireless network platform 510 toensure network's operation and data integrity in addition toauthorization and authentication procedures that CS gateway node(s) 512and PS gateway node(s) 518 can enact. Moreover, provisioning server(s)can provision services from external network(s) like networks operatedby a disparate service provider; for instance, WAN 550 or GlobalPositioning System (GPS) network(s) (not shown). Provisioning server(s)can also provision coverage through networks associated to wirelessnetwork platform 510 (e.g., deployed and operated by the same serviceprovider), such as the distributed antennas networks shown in FIG. 1(s)that enhance wireless service coverage by providing more networkcoverage.

It is to be noted that server(s) 514 can comprise one or more processorsconfigured to confer at least in part the functionality of macrowireless network platform 510. To that end, the one or more processorcan execute code instructions stored in memory 530, for example. It isshould be appreciated that server(s) 514 can comprise a content manager,which operates in substantially the same manner as describedhereinbefore.

In example embodiment 500, memory 530 can store information related tooperation of wireless network platform 510. Other operationalinformation can comprise provisioning information of mobile devicesserved through wireless platform network 510, subscriber databases;application intelligence, pricing schemes, e.g., promotional rates,flat-rate programs, couponing campaigns; technical specification(s)consistent with telecommunication protocols for operation of disparateradio, or wireless, technology layers; and so forth. Memory 530 can alsostore information from at least one of telephony network(s) 540, WAN550, enterprise network(s) 570, or SS7 network 560. In an aspect, memory530 can be, for example, accessed as part of a data store component oras a remotely connected memory store.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosedsubject matter, FIG. 5, and the following discussion, are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable environment in whichthe various aspects of the disclosed subject matter can be implemented.While the subject matter has been described above in the general contextof computer-executable instructions of a computer program that runs on acomputer and/or computers, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe disclosed subject matter also can be implemented in combination withother program modules. Generally, program modules comprise routines,programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particulartasks and/or implement particular abstract data types.

Turning now to FIG. 6, an illustrative embodiment of a communicationdevice 600 is shown. The communication device 600 can serve as anillustrative embodiment of devices such as data terminals 114, mobiledevices 124, vehicle 126, display devices 144, VR headset 204, or otherclient (or user) devices for communication via either communicationsnetwork 125.

The communication device 600 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 602 (herein transceiver 602), a user interface (UI) 604, apower supply 614, a location receiver 616, a motion sensor 618, anorientation sensor 620, and a controller 606 for managing operationsthereof. The transceiver 602 can support short-range or long-rangewireless access technologies such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi, DECT, orcellular communication technologies, just to mention a few (Bluetooth®and ZigBee® are trademarks registered by the Bluetooth® Special InterestGroup and the ZigBee® Alliance, respectively). Cellular technologies caninclude, for example, CDMA-1X, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO,WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 602 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCP/IP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 604 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 608 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device600. The keypad 608 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 600 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth®. The keypad 608 canrepresent a numeric keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a QWERTYkeypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 604 can further include a display610 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technology forconveying images to an end user of the communication device 600. In anembodiment where the display 610 is touch-sensitive, a portion or all ofthe keypad 608 can be presented by way of the display 610 withnavigation features.

The display 610 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a userinterface for detecting user input. As a touch screen display, thecommunication device 600 can be adapted to present a user interfacehaving graphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by auser with a touch of a finger. The touch screen display 610 can beequipped with capacitive, resistive or other forms of sensing technologyto detect how much surface area of a user's finger has been placed on aportion of the touch screen display. This sensing information can beused to control the manipulation of the GUI elements or other functionsof the user interface. The display 610 can be an integral part of thehousing assembly of the communication device 600 or an independentdevice communicatively coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface(such as a cable) or a wireless interface.

The UI 604 can also include an audio system 612 that utilizes audiotechnology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heard inproximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such as speakerphonefor hands free operation). The audio system 612 can further include amicrophone for receiving audible signals of an end user. The audiosystem 612 can also be used for voice recognition applications. The UI604 can further include an image sensor 613 such as a charged coupleddevice (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 614 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and/or charging system technologies for supplying energyto the components of the communication device 600 to facilitatelong-range or short-range portable communications. Alternatively, or incombination, the charging system can utilize external power sources suchas DC power supplied over a physical interface such as a USB port orother suitable tethering technologies.

The location receiver 616 can utilize location technology such as aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS foridentifying a location of the communication device 600 based on signalsgenerated by a constellation of GPS satellites, which can be used forfacilitating location services such as navigation. The motion sensor 618can utilize motion sensing technology such as an accelerometer, agyroscope, or other suitable motion sensing technology to detect motionof the communication device 600 in three-dimensional space. Theorientation sensor 620 can utilize orientation sensing technology suchas a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the communication device600 (north, south, west, and east, as well as combined orientations indegrees, minutes, or other suitable orientation metrics).

The communication device 600 can use the transceiver 602 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth®, or other wirelessaccess points by sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or signal time of arrival (TOA) or time offlight (TOF) measurements. The controller 606 can utilize computingtechnologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP),programmable gate arrays, application specific integrated circuits,and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such as Flash,ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies for executingcomputer instructions, controlling, and processing data supplied by theaforementioned components of the communication device 600.

Other components not shown in FIG. 6 can be used in one or moreembodiments of the subject disclosure. For instance, the communicationdevice 600 can include a slot for adding or removing an identity modulesuch as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card or Universal IntegratedCircuit Card (UICC). SIM or UICC cards can be used for identifyingsubscriber services, executing programs, storing subscriber data, and soon.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and so forth, as used in theclaims, unless otherwise clear by context, is for clarity only anddoesn't otherwise indicate or imply any order in time. For instance, “afirst determination,” “a second determination,” and “a thirddetermination,” does not indicate or imply that the first determinationis to be made before the second determination, or vice versa, etc.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “storage,” “datastore,” data storage,” “database,” and substantially any otherinformation storage component relevant to operation and functionality ofa component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a“memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciatedthat the memory components described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory, or can comprise both volatile andnonvolatile memory, by way of illustration, and not limitation, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, disk storage, and memory storage. Further,nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory (ROM),programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory cancomprise random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cachememory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available inmany forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhancedSDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM).Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methodsherein are intended to comprise, without being limited to comprising,these and any other suitable types of memory.

Moreover, it will be noted that the disclosed subject matter can bepracticed with other computer system configurations, comprisingsingle-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, mini-computingdevices, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-heldcomputing devices (e.g., PDA, phone, smartphone, watch, tabletcomputers, netbook computers, etc.), microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer or industrial electronics, and the like. Theillustrated aspects can also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network; however, some if not allaspects of the subject disclosure can be practiced on stand-alonecomputers. In a distributed computing environment, program modules canbe located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Some of the embodiments described herein can also employ artificialintelligence (AI) to facilitate automating one or more featuresdescribed herein. The embodiments (e.g., in connection withautomatically identifying acquired cell sites that provide a maximumvalue/benefit after addition to an existing communication network) canemploy various AI-based schemes for carrying out various embodimentsthereof. Moreover, the classifier can be employed to determine a rankingor priority of each cell site of the acquired network. A classifier is afunction that maps an input attribute vector, x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, . . . ,xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, that is,f(x)=confidence (class). Such classification can employ a probabilisticand/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into the analysisutilities and costs) to prognose or infer an action that a user desiresto be automatically performed. A support vector machine (SVM) is anexample of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates byfinding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs, which thehypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from thenon-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classificationcorrect for testing data that is near, but not identical to trainingdata. Other directed and undirected model classification approachescomprise, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neuralnetworks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification modelsproviding different patterns of independence can be employed.Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statisticalregression that is utilized to develop models of priority.

As will be readily appreciated, one or more of the embodiments canemploy classifiers that are explicitly trained (e.g., via a generictraining data) as well as implicitly trained (e.g., via observing UEbehavior, operator preferences, historical information, receivingextrinsic information). For example, SVMs can be configured via alearning or training phase within a classifier constructor and featureselection module. Thus, the classifier(s) can be used to automaticallylearn and perform a number of functions, including but not limited todetermining according to predetermined criteria which of the acquiredcell sites will benefit a maximum number of subscribers and/or which ofthe acquired cell sites will add minimum value to the existingcommunication network coverage, etc. In one or more embodiments,information regarding use of services can be generated includingservices being accessed, media consumption history, user preferences,and so forth. This information can be obtained by various methodsincluding user input, detecting types of communications (e.g., videocontent vs. audio content), analysis of content streams, sampling, andso forth. The generating, obtaining and/or monitoring of thisinformation can be responsive to an authorization provided by the user.In one or more embodiments, an analysis of data can be subject toauthorization from user(s) associated with the data, such as an opt-in,an opt-out, acknowledgement requirements, notifications, selectiveauthorization based on types of data, and so forth.

As used in some contexts in this application, in some embodiments, theterms “component,” “system” and the like are intended to refer to, orcomprise, a computer-related entity or an entity related to anoperational apparatus with one or more specific functionalities, whereinthe entity can be either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. As an example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution,computer-executable instructions, a program, and/or a computer. By wayof illustration and not limitation, both an application running on aserver and the server can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. In addition, these components can execute from variouscomputer readable media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry, which is operated by asoftware or firmware application executed by a processor, wherein theprocessor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes atleast a part of the software or firmware application. As yet anotherexample, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can comprise a processor therein to executesoftware or firmware that confers at least in part the functionality ofthe electronic components. While various components have beenillustrated as separate components, it will be appreciated that multiplecomponents can be implemented as a single component, or a singlecomponent can be implemented as multiple components, without departingfrom example embodiments.

Further, the various embodiments can be implemented as a method,apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device or computer-readable storage/communicationsmedia. For example, computer readable storage media can include, but arenot limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk,magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digitalversatile disk (DVD)), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g.,card, stick, key drive). Of course, those skilled in the art willrecognize many modifications can be made to this configuration withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

In addition, the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to meanserving as an instance or illustration. Any embodiment or designdescribed herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments ordesigns. Rather, use of the word example or exemplary is intended topresent concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, theterm “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive“or”. That is, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, “Xemploys A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusivepermutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both Aand B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoinginstances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in thisapplication and the appended claims should generally be construed tomean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context tobe directed to a singular form.

Moreover, terms such as “user equipment,” “mobile station,” “mobile,”subscriber station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,” “mobiledevice” (and/or terms representing similar terminology) can refer to awireless device utilized by a subscriber or user of a wirelesscommunication service to receive or convey data, control, voice, video,sound, gaming or substantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. Theforegoing terms are utilized interchangeably herein and with referenceto the related drawings.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer” andthe like are employed interchangeably throughout, unless contextwarrants particular distinctions among the terms. It should beappreciated that such terms can refer to human entities or automatedcomponents supported through artificial intelligence (e.g., a capacityto make inference based, at least, on complex mathematical formalisms),which can provide simulated vision, sound recognition and so forth.

As employed herein, the term “processor” can refer to substantially anycomputing processing unit or device comprising, but not limited tocomprising, single-core processors; single-processors with softwaremultithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-coreprocessors with software multithread execution capability; multi-coreprocessors with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; andparallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, aprocessor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), acomplex programmable logic device (CPLD), a discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. Processors can exploitnano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular andquantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimizespace usage or enhance performance of user equipment. A processor canalso be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

As used herein, terms such as “data storage,” data storage,” “database,”and substantially any other information storage component relevant tooperation and functionality of a component, refer to “memorycomponents,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or components comprisingthe memory. It will be appreciated that the memory components orcomputer-readable storage media, described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory or can include both volatile andnonvolatile memory.

What has been described above includes mere examples of variousembodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes ofdescribing these examples, but one of ordinary skill in the art canrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the presentembodiments are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed and/orclaimed herein are intended to embrace all such alterations,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes”is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term isintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as“comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in aclaim.

In addition, a flow diagram may include a “start” and/or “continue”indication. The “start” and “continue” indications reflect that thesteps presented can optionally be incorporated in or otherwise used inconjunction with other routines. In this context, “start” indicates thebeginning of the first step presented and may be preceded by otheractivities not specifically shown. Further, the “continue” indicationreflects that the steps presented may be performed multiple times and/ormay be succeeded by other activities not specifically shown. Further,while a flow diagram indicates a particular ordering of steps, otherorderings are likewise possible provided that the principles ofcausality are maintained.

As may also be used herein, the term(s) “operably coupled to”, “coupledto”, and/or “coupling” includes direct coupling between items and/orindirect coupling between items via one or more intervening items. Suchitems and intervening items include, but are not limited to, junctions,communication paths, components, circuit elements, circuits, functionalblocks, and/or devices. As an example of indirect coupling, a signalconveyed from a first item to a second item may be modified by one ormore intervening items by modifying the form, nature or format ofinformation in a signal, while one or more elements of the informationin the signal are nevertheless conveyed in a manner than can berecognized by the second item. In a further example of indirectcoupling, an action in a first item can cause a reaction on the seconditem, as a result of actions and/or reactions in one or more interveningitems.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement which achieves thesame or similar purpose may be substituted for the embodiments describedor shown by the subject disclosure. The subject disclosure is intendedto cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, can be used in the subject disclosure.For instance, one or more features from one or more embodiments can becombined with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. Inone or more embodiments, features that are positively recited can alsobe negatively recited and excluded from the embodiment with or withoutreplacement by another structural and/or functional feature. The stepsor functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subjectdisclosure can be performed in any order. The steps or functionsdescribed with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure canbe performed alone or in combination with other steps or functions ofthe subject disclosure, as well as from other embodiments or from othersteps that have not been described in the subject disclosure. Further,more than or less than all of the features described with respect to anembodiment can also be utilized.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: obtaining, by a processingsystem having a processor, media content, wherein the media content is a360-degree video, three-dimensional video or panoramic video; analyzing,by the processing system, historical field of views of previous users todiscern a plurality of points of interest in the media content, whereinthe analyzing tracks each point of interest in the plurality of pointsof interest that has been most frequently viewed by the previous users;receiving, by the processing system, a request from equipment of a userto view the media content; obtaining, by the processing system,information about the user; identifying, by the processing system, ahighlight point that will be presented at a future time in the mediacontent by determining which of the plurality of points of interest inthe media content would be of interest to the user based on theinformation about the user, wherein the highlight point is included inpoints of interest that were viewed by those previous users who sharesimilar demographics with the user; presenting, by the processingsystem, the media content to the user; monitoring, by the processingsystem, a field of view of the user; determining, by the processingsystem, whether the highlight point is outside of the field of view ofthe user; overlaying, by the processing system, a guide indicator atopthe field of view of the user responsive to determining that thehighlight point is outside of the field of view of the user, wherein theguide indicator provides information about the highlight point, whereinthe guide indicator is positioned to indicate a direction for the userto turn to align the field of view of the user with the field of view ofthe highlight point, and wherein the information displays an amount oftime until the future time that the highlight point will be presented;and providing, by the processing system, a field of view comprising thehighlight point from the media content regardless of the field of viewof the user.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the guide indicatorpresents the field of view containing the highlight point of the mediacontent, thereby showing the highlight point to the user regardless ofthe field of view of the user.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theguide indicator includes a textual description of the highlight point.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the guide indicator is presentedbefore the highlight point occurs in the media content.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein no overlay is presented responsive to determining thatthe highlight point is inside the field of view of the user.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the analyzing of the media content includesreviewing previous fields of view of the previous users.
 7. Anapparatus, comprising: a processor; and a memory that stores executableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitateperformance of operations, comprising: obtaining media content;receiving a request from equipment of a user to view the media content;obtaining information about the user; identifying a highlight point thatwill be presented at a future time in the media content that would be ofinterest to the user based on the information about the user, whereinthe highlight point is included in points of interest that werefrequently viewed by previous users sharing similar demographics withthe user; presenting the media content to the equipment of the user;monitoring a field of view of the user; determining whether thehighlight point is outside of the field of view of the user; presentinga guide indicator in the field of view of the user responsive todetermining that the highlight point is outside of the field of view ofthe user, wherein the guide indicator provides information about thehighlight point, wherein the guide indicator is positioned to indicate adirection for the user to turn to align the field of view of the userwith the field of view of the highlight point, and wherein theinformation displays an amount of time until the future time that thehighlight point will be presented; and presenting a field of viewcomprising the highlight point from the media content regardless of thefield of view of the user.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein theguide indicator presents the field of view containing the highlightpoint of the media content, thereby showing the highlight point to theuser regardless of the field of view of the user.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 7, wherein the guide indicator includes a textual description ofthe highlight point.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the guideindicator is presented before the highlight point occurs in the mediacontent.
 11. The apparatus of claim 7, the operations further includinganalyzing the media content based on the field of view of the user. 12.The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the analyzing the media contentincludes reviewing previous fields of view of previous users.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the processor comprises a plurality ofprocessors in a distributed computing environment.
 14. A non-transitory,machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processing system including a processor, facilitateperformance of operations, the operations comprising: obtaining mediacontent; analyzing the media content to discern a plurality of points ofinterest in the media content based on previous user experiences withthe media content; receiving a request from equipment of a user to viewthe media content; obtaining information about the user; identifying ahighlight point that will be presented at a future time in the mediacontent by determining which of the plurality of points of interest inthe media content would be of interest to the user based on theinformation about the user, wherein the highlight point is included inpoints of interest that were frequently viewed by previous users sharingsimilar demographics with the user; presenting the media content to theequipment of the user; monitoring a field of view of the user;determining whether the highlight point is outside of the field of viewof the user; presenting a guide indicator in the field of view of theuser responsive to determining that the highlight point is outside ofthe field of view of the user, wherein the guide indicator providesinformation about the highlight point, wherein the guide indicator ispositioned to indicate a direction for the user to turn to align thefield of view of the user with the field of view of the highlight point,and wherein the information displays an amount of time until the futuretime that the highlight point will be presented; and presenting a fieldof view comprising the highlight point from the media content regardlessof the field of view of the user.
 15. The non-transitory,machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the guide indicatorpresents the field of view containing the highlight point in the mediacontent, thereby showing the highlight point to the user regardless ofthe field of view of the user.
 16. The non-transitory, machine-readablemedium of claim 14, wherein the guide indicator is a textual descriptionof the highlight point.
 17. The non-transitory, machine-readable mediumof claim 15, wherein the guide indicator is presented before thehighlight point occurs in the media content.
 18. The non-transitory,machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the operations furtherinclude updating the analyzing the media content based on the field ofview of the user.
 19. The non-transitory, machine-readable medium ofclaim 14, wherein the media content is panoramic video and the analyzingthe media content includes reviewing previous fields of view of previoususers.
 20. The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 14,wherein the processing system comprises a plurality of processors in adistributed computing environment.